A recent study to gauge the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment in Europe, reveals that about 25 per cent of all jobs were highly exposed to automation driven by AI.
The level of exposure is such that it presents risks as well as opportunities at the same time. How much the impact will be on jobs will depend on whether the AI-driven technology applied will substitute manual labour or complement it.
It was discovered that the jobs that required highly-skilled workers were the ones that were more exposed to AI-based automation. That means, there is competition between AI-driven tech and highly-skilled jobs. While the level of exposure to AI or automation differs from one skill level to another, it remains more or less the same across age groups.
From the study of 16 European countries, the European Central Bank finds that AI-enabled automation is associated with an increase in jobs in Europe – primarily for high-skill jobs and younger members of the workforce. This strikes as odd because in the past the onset of computers had resulted in a reduction in employment, especially of medium-skilled workers, leading to polarisation. Now, however, no such polarization has come about from software-driven automation. There seems to be no evidence of software replacing medium-skilled humans.
That means, while it is true that AI can automate work in almost every occupation, its impact is unlike that brought about by computerisation and even industrial robotics. The impact of AI-enabled technologies — which continue to be developed and embraced — is yet to be seen on employment and wages, and as a result, on growth and equality.
